U.S. patent application number 11/770305 was filed with the patent office on 2009-01-01 for method and system for containing and accessing mulitple web browsers.
Invention is credited to Tamer E. Abuelsaad, Kelly Ayrnar.
Application Number | 20090006361 11/770305 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40161834 |
Filed Date | 2009-01-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090006361 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Abuelsaad; Tamer E. ; et
al. |
January 1, 2009 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTAINING AND ACCESSING MULITPLE WEB
BROWSERS
Abstract
A container browser or a super browser stores browsers and
enables a user to launch any stored web browser and display a
designated web page from a preferred browser. This container
browser can track and bookmark the browsers such that the browsers
could be easily selected and initiated. The container browser could
present the content in tabbed form, meaning that a tab that the
user can click on will represent every open window. Once the user
has designated a particular browser to display particular web page,
then this information is stored in the container browser. Further
accesses to that web site would be displayed using the designated
web browser. Other designated web pages would be displayed on other
designated web browsers.
Inventors: |
Abuelsaad; Tamer E.;
(Poughkeepsie, NY) ; Ayrnar; Kelly; (Poughkeepsie,
NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
IBM CORPORATION;C/O DARCELL WALKER, ATTORNEY AT LAW
P. O. Box 25048
HOUSTON
TX
77265
US
|
Family ID: |
40161834 |
Appl. No.: |
11/770305 |
Filed: |
June 28, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 ;
707/999.005; 707/999.102; 707/E17.01; 707/E17.017; 715/764;
715/810 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/9535
20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
707/5 ; 715/764;
715/810; 707/102; 707/E17.01; 707/E17.017 |
International
Class: |
G06F 7/06 20060101
G06F007/06; G06F 3/048 20060101 G06F003/048; G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30 |
Claims
1. A method for displaying a resource of information, such as web
page, which is accessed through a communication network and
displayed through a specifically identified software application a
web browser program that enables a user to view and interact with
text, images, and other information typically contained in that web
page, the method comprising the steps of: detecting an attempt to
access information contained in a web page through a communication
network; identifying a web page containing information that is the
object of the access attempt; determining whether there is a
previously identified preferred web browser through which the web
page is to be displayed to a user; and displaying the accessed web
page information through a previously identified preferred web
browser.
2. The method as described in claim 1 further comprising the steps
of: creating a set of web pages each web page having an identified
preferred web browsers through which the web page is displayed.
3. The method as described in claim 2 further comprising before
said displayed step the steps of: when the determination is that
there is not a record of a preferred web browser for a particular
web page, querying the user to select a web browser; creating a
record of a preferred web browser for that web page, the record
containing information fields the web page URL and preferred web
browser; and storing the record in the set of web pages with
preferred web browsers.
4. The method as described in claim 3 further comprising in
response to said query the step, the step of tagging a selected
preferred web browser, such that a tag identifies this browser with
the associated web page.
5. The method as described in claim 3 further comprising when there
is a determination that there is a record of a preferred web
browser the steps of: querying the user to determine whether the
user desires to alter web browser information contained in the
record for that web page; when there a determination that the user
does desire to alter information in the record, querying the user
to select another web browser through which the web page is to be
displayed; and storing the record containing the new information in
the set of web pages with preferred web browsers.
6. The method as described in claim 1 further comprising before
said web browser identifying step, the step of displaying an
initial web page in a default web browser.
7. The method as described in claim 6 further comprising the steps
of: detecting an access attempt to a web page; determining whether
a record of the web page for which the access is detected is stored
in the set of web pages with preferred web browsers; when the
determination is that record of the web page is not stored,
retrieving the web page through a default web browser; querying the
user to determine whether the user desires to view the web page in
a preferred web browser; identifying a web browser selected by the
user for that web page; creating a record of a preferred web
browser for that web page, the record containing information fields
the web page URL and preferred web browser; storing that record;
and displaying that web page to the user through the selected web
browser.
8. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said determining step
further comprises the step of querying a user to select a web
browser
9. The method as described in claim 1 further comprising the step
of detecting whether a web browser selected by the user is
available for use.
10. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said determining
step further comprises the steps of: searching the set of stored
web page records; identifying a record with a name, which is the
same as the name of the web page for which the present access
attempt is being made; reading the tag associated with the
identified record; matching that tag with a web browser that
corresponds to that tag; and identifying the web browser with the
matching tag as the preferred web browser.
11. A system for displaying a resource of information, such as web
page, which is accessed through a communication network and
displayed through a software application program, a web browser,
that enables a user to view and interact with text, images, and
other information typically contained in that web page, the web
browser being specifically identified to display the information,
the system comprising: a communication network containing web
sites, each web site containing at least one web page, the web
pages being accessible through the communication network; a
computing device capable of displaying contents from a web page to
a viewer; a software application program, a web browser, that
enables a user to view and interact with text, images, and other
information typically contained in that web page; and a repository
of web pages containing a designated web browser through which the
web page is to be displayed to a viewer.
12. The system as described in claim 11 further comprising a
software module for determining and initializing a preferred web
browser to display an accessed web page.
13. The system as described in claim 12 further comprising a screen
icon through which a user activates said web browser activating
software module.
14. A computer program product stored in a computer-readable
storage medium for displaying a resource of information, such as
web page, which is accessed through a communication network and
displayed through a software application program, a web browser,
that enables a user to view and interact with text, images, and
other information typically contained in that web page, the web
browser being specifically identified to display the information,
the computer program product comprising: instructions detecting an
attempt to access information contained in a web page through a
communication network; instructions identifying a web page
containing information that is the object of the access attempt;
instructions determining whether there is a previously identified
preferred web browser through which the web page is to be displayed
to a user; and instructions displaying the accessed web page
information through a previously identified preferred web
browser.
15. The computer program product as described in claim 14 further
comprising instructions creating a set of web pages each web page
having an identified preferred web browsers through which the web
page is displayed.
16. The computer program product as described in claim 15 further
comprising before said displaying instructions: when the
determination is that there is not a record of a preferred web
browser for a particular web page, instructions querying the user
to select a web browser; instructions creating a record of a
preferred web browser for that web page, the record containing
information fields the web page URL and preferred web browser; and
instructions storing the record in the set of web pages with
preferred web browsers.
17. The computer program product as described in claim 16 further
comprising in response to said query instructions, instructions
tagging a selected preferred web browser, such that a tag
identifies this browser with the associated web page.
18. The computer program product as described in claim 17 further
comprising when there is a determination that there is a record of
a preferred web browser: instructions querying the user to
determine whether the user desires to alter web browser information
contained in the record for that web page; when there a
determination that the user does desire to alter information in the
record, instructions querying the user to select another web
browser through which the web page is to be displayed; and
instructions storing the record containing the new information in
the set of web pages with preferred web browsers.
19. The computer program product as described in claim 14 further
comprising: instructions detecting an access attempt to a web page;
instructions determining whether a record of the web page for which
the access is detected is stored in the set of web pages with
preferred web browsers; when the determination is that record of
the web page is not stored, instructions retrieving the web page
through a default web browser; instructions querying the user to
determine whether the user desires to view the web page in a
preferred web browser; instructions identifying a web browser
selected by the user for that web page; instructions creating a
record of a preferred web browser for that web page, the record
containing information fields the web page URL and preferred web
browser; instructions storing that record; and instructions
displaying that web page to the user through the selected web
browser.
20. The computer program product as described in claim 14 wherein
said determining instructions further comprise instructions
searching the set of stored web page records; instructions
identifying a record with a name, which is the same as the name of
the web page, for which the present access attempt is being made;
instructions reading the tag associated with the identified record;
instructions matching that tag with a web browser that corresponds
to that tag; and instructions identifying the web browser with the
matching tag as the preferred web browser.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a method and system for containing
in one computer resource. More particularly, this invention relates
to a method and system for storing a set of web browsers in one
computing resource and accessing a selected web browser to retrieve
and display a specific web page wherein the selected web browser
provides the optimum display quality from the set of browsers
contained in the computing resource for the selected web page.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A Web browser is a software application that enables a user
to display and interact with text, images, and other information
typically located on a Web page at a website on the World Wide Web
or a local area network. Text and images on a Web page can contain
hyperlinks to other Web pages at the same or different website. Web
browsers allow a user to quickly and easily access information
provided on many Web pages at many websites by traversing these
links. Web browsers format HTML information for display, so the
appearance of a Web page may differ between browsers. Web browsers
communicate with Web servers primarily using HTTP (hypertext
transfer protocol) to retrieve webpages. A web server is a computer
program that is responsible for accepting HTTP requests from
clients, which are known as Web browsers, and serving them HTTP
responses along with optional data contents, which usually are Web
pages such as HTML documents and linked objects (images, etc.).
[0003] A Web page or web page is a resource of information that is
suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web
browser. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and
may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext links. Web
pages may be retrieved from a local computer or from a remote web
server. The web server may restrict access only to a private
network, e.g. a corporate intranet, or it may publish pages on the
World Wide Web. Web pages are requested and served from web servers
using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). A web page is a type of
web document. Web pages may consist of files of static text stored
within the web server's file system (static web pages), or the web
server may construct the (X) HTML for each web page when it is
requested by a browser (dynamic web pages). Client-side scripting
can make web pages more responsive to user input once in the client
browser.
[0004] With the constant emergence of new website content display
technologies, not all web browsers are able to render their content
as originally intended by the web site's author. Many web browsers
rely on plugins to display web content properly.
[0005] Consequently, a user's visual representation of web site
between one browser and another can look very different depending
on what that browser has the capability to render. A common phrase
seen on some web sites is the phrase "this content is best viewed
in Internet Explorer".
[0006] As an example, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
website (www.uspto.gov) displays images of patents. However, not
all web browsers can adequately display these patent images.
Therefore for a user to access the patent office web site and view
the display images of the patents a user would need to be aware of
the browser that the can best display the patent images. The user
would need to access the website through the browser that best
displays these pages.
[0007] The need to continually track the display capabilities of a
web browser with regard to displaying particular web pages can be a
source of frustration for the user. This present a level of
frustration to the user, having to keep switching web browsers,
remembering which site looks and works best in which browser, is
one that needs to be addressed. There remains a need for a super
browser wherein a user could launch a selected web browser through
which a web page would be displayed. This container browser could
track the browsers and retrieve the browser to be used to best view
a website.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present inventor describes a container browser, or a
super browser, that in it a user can launch any web browser stored
browser to display a web page. This container browser can track and
bookmark the browsers such that the browsers could be easily
selected and initiated. The container browser could be an
application program that could be internally launched within any
web browser, such as brand name web browsers (Internet Explorer,
Firefox. Netscape, etc. . . . ). The container browser could
present the content in tabbed form, meaning that a tab that the
user can click on will represent every open window. Each tab must
contain the website title as well as an icon to represent the web
browser that it is being viewed in.
[0009] Identifying web sites for inclusion in the container web
browser is done in a different way than conventional methods. When
a user goes to a tab and chooses to identify or mark a particular
web browser, the container browser creates an internal entry to the
container browser. This entry can contain the website name, URL for
the website, and the particular web browser through which the web
site can be viewed. The user can alter all these features in a
container browser entry at any given time through a management
interface. When the user goes to retrieve a specified browser, the
container browser opens a tab and views the site with the stored
web browser. The container browser can be smart enough to detect
web browsers installed in a web site as well as allow for the user
to specify a web browser path.
[0010] In the present invention, the method for retrieving a web
site browser through which to display a website involves
identifying a web browser for a desired website by determining
whether the accessed web site is currently included the container
browser. If it is included, then the user is queried to determine
if the user desires to make changes to the stored information. A
change could be to select another browser through which the user
desires to display a website. If the web site does not have an
entry in the container browser, then the user is queried to select
a preferred browser to display the particular web page. When the
user selects a website, the method creates a record or entry
containing information about that browser and associating that
browser with the particular web site.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a personal computing
device, which may be used in implementation of the present
invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a display of a general configuration of the
connection patterns for communication network, which includes web
sites and users that can view the web sites through web
browsers.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a display of a computer device screen or desk top
that contains various icon used to activate various programs on the
computing device including used to activate web site browsers from
the computer device.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a web site screen in accordance with the present
invention displaying a browser option that can allow a user to
designate a specific web browser through which the user desires to
view the web site.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a web site screen in accordance with the present
invention displaying a browser option and a drop down listing of
websites, with each web site having a designated web browser
through which a user can view the web site.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the steps involved in
designating a specific browser through which a user can view a
website.
[0017] FIG. 7 is a set of records created and contained in
accordance with the present invention that contains information
including a web site name, web site URL and a web browser for
displaying the web site.
[0018] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of the steps involved in retrieving
a web page in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] The present invention provides a method and system for
marking web browsers to be associated with specific web sites. The
marked will be used to view the associated web site. The intent of
this concept is to provide a web browser that more optimally
displays the specified web site.
[0020] With reference now to FIG. 1, there is depicted a pictorial
representation of computing device 100 which may be used in
implementation of the present invention. Although the invention is
described in terms of the device illustrated in FIG. 1, other types
of electronic devices capable of transmitting and receiving
information can be used in the implementation of the present
invention. As seen in FIG. 1, data processing system 100 includes
processor 110 that preferably includes a graphics processor, memory
device and central processor (not shown). Coupled to processor 110
is video display 120 which may be implemented utilizing either a
color or monochromatic monitor, in a manner well known in the art.
Also coupled to processor 110 is keyboard 130. Keyboard 130
preferably comprises a standard computer keyboard, which is coupled
to the processor by means of cable 140. Also coupled to processor
110 is a graphical pointing device, such as mouse 150. Mouse 150 is
coupled to processor 110, in a manner well known in the art, via
cable 160. As is shown, mouse 150 may include left button 170, and
right button 180, each of which may be depressed, or "clicked", to
provide command and control signals to data processing system 100.
While the disclosed embodiment of the present invention utilizes a
mouse, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any graphical
pointing device such as a light pen or touch sensitive screen may
be utilized to implement the method and apparatus of the present
invention. Upon reference to the foregoing, those skilled in the
art will appreciate that data processing system 100 may be
implemented utilizing a personal computer.
[0021] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a communication network
configuration through which a user can access and display a
website. Shown is a network 200 that contains several websites
(202, 204, 206, 208 and 210). As previously discussed, a web page
is a resource of information that exists on a communication network
212 such as the Internet or World Wide Web and can be accessed
through a web browser 216. The computing device 212 contains the
software browser program 216. When activated, the browser program
establishes communications with a web page viewed through the
communication network. In most applications, the initial or default
web page comes when a users initially establishes a connection to
the communication network. This page is usually associated with a
default web browser for that user.
[0022] FIG. 3 is an illustration of a conventional computing device
video display 104 or computer screen 300. This screen has a bottom
display section that displays various command options. In this
example, clicking the `start` icon produces a list of commands from
which the user can select. The main portion of the screen also
contains several icons such as 304 and 305. These icons can provide
access and activation of several application programs stored in the
computing device. Icons 306, 308 and 310 can activate web browser
programs stored on the computing device. The clicking of a web
browser can establish access to the communication network. In
conventional processes, when this occurs, any web page is opened in
that browser. With the present invention, clicking any browser icon
could activate the container browser. The initial or default
browser page could be one associated with the container or could be
another default browser that the user can specify.
[0023] FIG. 4 shows a web page 400 of the present invention
incorporating the container browser concept of the present
invention. Similar to many computer screen displays for application
programs, this screen 400 contains are several lines of information
and options. Line 402 has information tells the name of the web
site and the name of the browser through which the web site is
displayed. Line 404 has option icons `.rarw.` and `.fwdarw.` that
enable a user to scroll back to previous web sites or forward to
other web sites. In addition, line 404 also contains the Uniform
Resource Identifier "URL" for the current web site that is
displayed on the screen. Line 406 contains icons that indicate
various commands that the user can perform. One of these commands
can be a `Browser` command that activates the container browser
program. The display can contain a section 408 with links to other
web sites. The web page also contains a search option 410. This
feature enables the user to search for other web sites based on
search criteria this is included in the search space.
[0024] FIG. 5 illustrates a list of stored of web pages stored in a
container browser in accordance with the present invention. As
shown, the computer screen contains a default web page 500 that the
user sees when they are initially connected to the communication
network via a default browser. The web page contains the previously
discussed information lines 502, 504 and 506. Line 506 contains the
address or URL of the default web page (the initial web page that
comes up when initially connected to the communication network).
Clicking the down arrow 510 can produce the pull down display 508
containing a list of websites that have been accessed by the user.
This list of websites could also be from a set of web sites that
are stored in the container browser. The container browser will
contain a list of marked websites and the preferred browser to
display the web site contents. The list contains the URL for a web
site and the designated web browser for each web site in field
512.
[0025] The method of the invention has two aspects. The initial
aspect of the method is to establish a specific browser to display
a specific web site. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the steps involved
in designating a specific browser through which a user can view a
website. The initial step in this method is to activate the
container browser, step 600. Referring to FIG. 4, this activation
can be by clicking the `Browser` icon in line 406. Clicking this
icon sends a signal that initializes this method. This activation
will occur will a web site is currently being displayed on the
computer screen. At this point, step 602 determines whether that a
record already for that web site in the container browser. If the
determination is that there is that a record does exist for that
web site, then step 604 determines whether the user wants to alter
information contained in the record for that web site. The user may
have installed an additional web browser and now wants to display
the site on that newly installed browser. Step 606 begins the
process of altering the record information. Step 608 sends a query
to the user to select a browser from the list of available browsers
on the system. Once the user has selected the new browser, step 610
amends the existing record for that web site with the new
information. This amended record is then stored in the container
browser in step 616.
[0026] Referring back to step 602, if the determination is that a
record does not exist in the container browser for the current web
site, then the method moves to step 612 where the user is queried
to select a web browser. At this point, the user would select a web
browser from a list of available browsers. In some systems, the
selected web browser made not be available. The desired browser may
not be installed on that system. In this case, the user can be
prompted to have the desired browser installed or to select one of
the already installed browsers. Once the user has selected a web
browser, step 614 creates a record in the web site container for
that web site. This created record is then stored in the container
browser for that site.
[0027] FIG. 7 is a set of records 700 created and contained in the
container browser storage location. These records contain three
fields. The first field 702 describes the name of the web site. The
second field 704 contains the URL for the web site. The third field
706 contains the specific and designated web browser to display
that web site. These record entries can exist for each site that a
user accesses or just for the web sites that the user
designates.
[0028] FIG. 8 describes the second aspect of the method of the
present when a user desires to display a web page. In this method,
in step 800, there is an initial detection of a user's attempt to
establish a connection with a communication network. This initial
access attempt is made through some browser software on the
computing device. As part of this connection, an initial or default
web page is display on the computer device screen. This initial
page can be a default page of the browser software. Many browsers
allow the user to change the initial web page if they prefer. Step
802 identifies an initial or default browser. The user can
designate the container browser as the default browser. Therefore,
when the user could click a desktop icon for the container browser
to generate the connection attempt through the super browser. In
other cases, the user may prefer a different default browser.
Whichever browser the user chooses, the step 804 displays the
initial home page for that browser.
[0029] At this point, the user has access to the communication
network. Next, the user will attempt to open a specific web page on
the network. There are various ways that a user has to access a web
page. For example, the user can do this by inputting the URL for
the web page or performing a search and accessing an entry from the
search results. Step 806 detects this attempt to access the
specific web page. This access attempt can also activate the
container browser. Step 808 then identifies the web page that the
user is attempting to access and determines whether this web page
is also contained in the container browser. This identification
process can be a matching of the web page URL with the URLs of
entries stored in the container browser. If the determination is
that the web page that the user is attempting to access is not
already in the container browser, then method moves to step 810
which retrieves and displays the web sites in the default browser.
Step 812 queries the user to give the user an opportunity to
display the web page in a preferred browser. This step
automatically initiates the process of establishing a specific
browser for a specific web site similar to the process described in
FIG. 6. If the user at this point prefers a specific browser, then
that browser is identified and a record this web site with that
browser is stored in the container browser. This method then moves
to step 818, which displays the web page in the designated browser.
In the alternative, the user may want to display the web page in a
preferred browser, but does want to save this web site and
preferred browser information in the container browser. In this
case, the user can decline to store the browser information in step
814. Referring again to step 808, if the determination is that the
web site is already stored in the container browser, then the
process moves to step 816, which retrieves the web site using the
preferred browser. At this point, step 818 displays the web page in
the designated browser.
[0030] One point to note is that many web sites have multiple
pages. For example, the patent office web site has links to many
pages referred to as web pages with the web site. The present
invention can also enable a user to designate a particular web page
within the web site that can be displayed with a particular web
browser.
[0031] It is important to note that while the present invention has
been described in the context of a fully functioning data
processing system, those skilled in the art will appreciate that
the processes of the present invention are capable of being
distributed in the form of instructions in a computer readable
medium and a variety of other forms, regardless of the particular
type of medium used to carry out the distribution. Examples of
computer readable media include media such as EPROM, ROM, tape,
paper, floppy disc, hard disk drive, RAM, and CD-ROMs and
transmission-type of media, such as digital and analog
communications links.
* * * * *